Crying for change in Fall of the Peacock

Thursday 12 March 2009 00:00 BST

Grisly 90 minutes: Fall of the Peacock

Anyone not au fait with the 1953 CIA-sponsored coup in Iran — or the clash between Alexander the Great and Darius of Persia in 336BC — will pass through three distinct phases in these grisly 90 minutes from Scottish company Wildbird. Firstly there’s bewilderment then frustration and finally, judging by last night’s audience, narcolepsy.

Writer, director and performer — not a combination that augurs well for narrative concision — Chris Lee has a lot he wants to share with us on the vexed topic of Western imperialism towards oil-rich Middle Eastern countries.

Unfortunately, he has only five actors, and three of these play three roles each, occasionally in Scottish accents, putting an already confusing set-up way beyond incomprehensible. "Who cares about one small, poor country?" enquires someone perceptively, but don’t ask me who.

As if these weren’t problems enough, the practicalities are all over the place, too. There are dubious acoustics and an oddly configured lighting rig that dazzles the video screens placed at each end of the oil drum-strewn playing area. The epilogue, projected onto these screens, is angled illegibly over the floor, an image that niftily encapsulates this doomed project.

Catriona-Lexy Campbell struts about saucily as Greek goddess Athena, who acts, for reasons best known only to Lee, as the narrator. Ian Hanmore makes deposed nationalist Prime Minister Mossadeq nicely principled but can do nothing about a succession of ever more turgid dialogues featuring cryptic blokes listed only as "Mobster". Long before the end, we are crying out for theatrical regime change.Until 28 March (020 7407 0234, www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk).